Monthly Archives January 2016

With a name like Coldplay, you can shoot a music video anywhere and it’s bound to be the next sensation on social media. But shoot it in India and expect a barrage of accusations that will ensue about cultural appropriation. That’s not to generalise reactions of the Indian audience, for they ranged across the spectrum from the proud and patriotic,…

The bus journeys from the platform to our role-model destinations turn from conversational to musical in a matter of minutes. That Bollywood connects those in a country as vast as ours is an unoriginal thought. Nonetheless it is one that crosses my mind en route to the Art of Living Ashram in the outskirts of Bangalore. The name Sri Sri…

My erstwhile home in London, Kings Cross, is seldom paid a visit, but I’m always more than ready to venture pretty much anywhere for good food. With Laura’s friend arriving on the Euro-star last Sunday, it was a golden opportunity to restart our weekend brunch tradition. Besides, with the unfortunate news about Alan Rickman, a visit to Platform 9 ¾ was…

6:30 AM: My phone vibrates: “Good morning, the sunrise is beautiful." After 36-hours on the track, our train has finally come to a halt. The Yellow plaque-card, which will quickly become a photo opportunity to document our many destinations, reads Dharwad. The chatter on the platforms grows louder as the slumberous surface, and the calls to de-board get more desperate.…

"Go and seek out that person who is the opposite of you. Then, you will gain the maximum value from this journey.” Day 1 of Jagriti Yatra is dedicated to knowing each other better. This means making the arduous journey from Bogie number 15 to 6, in order to meet the rest of my group members. Lesson #1: Do…

The morning routine of Londoners unravels in front of me as I sit at my window-faced desk. My foot taps to the rhythm of Kalki Kochelin’s most recent viral video, The Printing Machine, which I just finished watching. Chrr tak tak taka daka tak chree. The tune transports me back to Day 1 on the Jagriti Yatra, when 400 individuals…

Exhausted. Exhilarated. Enriched. A 15-day expedition across the Indian subcontinent comes to an end. Yet in some ways, the journey has just begun. An experience that transcends logic and rationality: how do 400+ individuals live, sleep, bathe and eat on a train? Then again, the act of voluntarily choosing such circumstances is perhaps irrational. Does the locomotive run on steam…